BALTIMORE, MD—MSAC’s traditional arts program, Maryland Traditions, has awarded $65,000 to artists in the state through the Folklife Apprenticeship grant. The funding supports the sharing of traditional arts skills from a master artist to an apprentice artist during a one-year teaching period. Thirteen grants of $5,000 each have been awarded for the 2022-2023 granting period to the teams listed below, with master artists named first.
- Kibibi Ajanku (Baltimore City) & Jumoke Ajanku (Baltimore City): West African indigo dyeing
- Alla Borovskaia (Howard) & Milana Borovskaia (Howard): North Caucasus wool felting
- Nilajah Brown (Baltimore City) & Efia Dalili (Baltimore County): African diasporic birthwork
- Shanthi Chandrasekar (Montgomery) & Aishwariya Chandrasekar (Montgomery): Tamil kolam (drawing)
- Katherine Fahey (Baltimore City) and Azaria Joseph (Baltimore City): Crankie folk puppetry
- Linda Van Hart (Carroll) & Shannon Bernier (Frederick): Baltimore-style botanical jewelry
- Shanye Huang (Montgomery) & Etian Huang (Montgomery): Chinese painted paper cutting
- Jo Morrison (Carroll) & Lucy Duncan (Carroll): Folk Harp
- Luci Murphy (Montgomery) & Letitia VanSant (Baltimore City): Protest song leading
- Darab Shabahang (Montgomery) & Reza Saidi (Montgomery): Persian classical setar technique
- Meki Toalepai, Sr (Anne Arundel) & Meki Toalepai, Jr (Anne Arundel): Samoan fire dance
- Bryan Zamzow (Baltimore County) & Derek Ross (Montgomery): Folk music ear training
- Iaroslava Zonova (Montgomery) & Ekaterina Denisova (Baltimore County): Russian drobi (folk dancing)
Maryland Traditions has offered Folklife Apprenticeship grants annually since 2004. Applications for additional Folklife Apprenticeships will be accepted twice this year: once beginning in September 2022, and a second round beginning in March 2023. Keep an eye on the MSAC newsletter and social media for more information.
Folklife Apprenticeships are distinct from registered apprenticeships offered through the Maryland Apprenticeship Training Program, which supports workforce development.
Photo: Master artist Janice Greene (left; Baltimore County) works with apprentice artist Naomi Reid (Baltimore City) during a 2021-2022 Folklife Apprenticeship on Black storytelling. Photo by Human Being Productions. © Maryland State Arts Council.
